Steering-wheel.



l. C. PRITCHARD.

STEERING WHEEL.

APPucATloNvmED res. 24. '19|1.

Patented July 10, 1917.

LEWIS c. PRI'rcHiAnn, or CLEVELAND, omo,l Assienn 'ro INTERNATIONALsAv-A. LIFE FENDERcoJOFCLEVELAND, omo, .A CORPORATION-oe wsTfVIRGINrA..

f .Appii'atibn'fuedr'ebmary 24,1917gsensi No. 150,817.

To' all whom traag/'concern Beit known that-I, lgnwisC. 'PRrrcHRm a citizen of the United States,'residing .at

Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga. and.l

State of' Ohioh a\e invented new and use.-

.ful Improvements finl SteeringfVVheels, of

which the 4followingis a specification.`

Thisginvention relates tosteering wheels'- especially 'adapted' for use, in connection withmotor vehicles.

The object ofthe. invention is to provide a steering wheel ,which -is "formed in seca vtions, one of which is capable ef'b'eing vswung 'downwardly so: as to lprovide addil tional space, in. orderl thatI the operator of' the vehicle' may more conveniently enterjor vleave the seat, thel manner of operatingthe .swinging section permitting its [use in con!" iiection with 4vehicles whose controlling levers are 'mounted ontop ofthe steering wheel.

f Another obi-ject is to provide a sectional steering wheel, inv which lone of the sections will 'be rigidly securedto the steering post, so as to be Yalways inposition for use land by means of which the vehicle may be steered irrespective of `the p'osition of the .other section. v

`A further object is to provide meansffor locking the sections of the wheel/together,

which, are'so arranged within .the rim 'of'4 the wheel as notI to interfere wlth yits proper use, the saidlocking means securely holding the-appended ClalmS.

wheel. l

vthe'fsections in position to form a complete lith these and o ther obiects vin view, .thc

invention consists yof the `following novel `combination `and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated .inthe accompanying drawlngsand pointed Figure 1 is a top plan 4view of a 'steering wheel embodying the presentinvention Fig. 2 is a side lelevation of/tlie saine.

Fig. 3 is asimilar view showin-g the pivmounted to swing upward this strainwould :tend to ,disenga ge )the s'ecti ons which' would .ation of 'motor driven vehicles there is va gooddeal of strain to b eb'orneby the wheel, especially in braking the vehicle in 'the operation of stopping.' During this operation the driver will` exert an ,upward force upon the riin of the wheel, due v to the downwardly exerted 'pressure of his vfeeton' the brakes,

this upward` force' being' 'in the nature lof 'a .loiaciiigactionl to enable. him" to more quickly andreadily applyl the brakes.` For this reason lit isl desirable that the pivoted section of the'v wheel Vfswing downwardly, as theb'racing action just/described will' tend s peincaaonf Letters raie-eilt.. i Patented .1 ally 1o, 191

to hold the; sections. vin operative engage-j ment, fwhereas, lif .the pi'vo'tedv section lwas result in' an accident to'either the yehiclc or' the driver. Another advantage of this dowir wa'rdswiifiging section, is that `it provides additional-'room .between .the wl'eel andi Ithe d riverfs seat, s o as to more readily-'adapt itself to stout persons, as the 'pivoted sec# tion would swing downward and' away from thedrivenl whereas if' the sections swung upwardly. this irst movement .would be Vtoward the ydriver due to the' inclination of the wheel. The. particular forni'gnf wheel shown and describedalsenabl-es its use in' connection with vvehicles whoscjspark and gasolene controlling-levers are mountednpontheftop of the steering wheel, as 4isnow the-custom in motor 'driven Vehicles.

The 'present 'invention'v overcomes the nu merousdisadvantagesf set Iforth and em-v bodiesthe 'advantages and-'to'this end the* wheel comprises I' a rigidly mounted section which is indicatedlat 10. This' section in-v cludes the `rini 11`and spokes'12,lby means of which .the said. rim is lrigidly secured to the hub. 13, which in. turn is` .mounted upon] 4 the steering post 14, a section fof which is illustrated.'

. The. hub 13 is. formedintegral with/the spokes, two of which are indicated at 15, these being half spokes as lshown so as to cooperate withsimilar spokes carriedby the l other section'of'the' 'wheel to belater described. i

rIhe opposite'se'ction of the wheel'which is indicated at 16 includes the rim 17 and the vspokes 18 :and 19, vthe last mentioned spokes being 4comple mental tofthe spokes 15, softhat when the two sections ofthe Wheel are locked together lithey will coperate to'll.

"'formucompletei spokes. The section- '16 is formed' With ja `semi-'circular seat 20, Within l i which i'sse'ated asemi-circular reduced' por-l tion 21 formed on `the hub '13. Formed in- '.i5"tegral With the portion offthe section. 16 in which-the seat 2 0 is provided, are-depend-v ."ing-lugsor ears 22, which are-pivotally se-, cured to thelanged sides 23; of the hub 13 Which they embrace, the .pivots .thereof l" I i being indicatedy at '24.

Seated Within sockets formed the opposite' endsgof the rim 11 are tubular members 26, these members being provided With flanges 27 by meanslof which they are' 1K5 held in place. Carried 'by' the tubular memlbers 26 are spring latches 28, these latches extending beyond the ends of tlie'members.

26 foi-the purpose of engaging lugs 29 carried bytubular members 30.,.Which areseat- |20 ed in depressions or sockets .31' formed in the. opposed vends of the section .16. The v tubular members 301 are also. provided' with attaching flanges 32 and have aflange 33 projecting beyond-thefends of the Wheel. 2.5 rim, soas to-projectv a shortdistance With- '.in the tubular members 26 for the purpose of sltif'fening they joints `betvveenthe sections when the Wheel is `in its lockedv position.

' Themembers 30 are each provided with.

springl controlled operating buttons 3l Whichgoperate 'in -countersunk portions 35,

the shank Aof these buttons carrying upontheir iii-ner 'ends ahead 36 which is adapted to bef'positionedbeneath the free end of the 35 spri'ngcatch28 for the purpose of releasing fris'. The rim section 11 is further with a seat 38 .Within which is nannu-lar buer 39 formed of as to4v permit a tight joint between these sections and to provide a smooth gripping sur'- face for the 'Wheel.

'j Itis believed `from the foregoing tha-t the r other suitable material, the pee .40 riplieral. edge of which 'is flush "with 'the .transverse diameter-of the rim sections so' construction 'and operation of the iliveiitio will be' apparent' to those'skilled in th'e-a'rt. The right. is reserved to make such changes as may fall within the @ope .of the ap pended claims, for example a di'erent form V50 of latch may besub'stituted for that'shown, ory a clamp. or other securing means may be'providedfor vtl'ie-sectioiis 1'5 and 19 for the vpurpose of securing the sections of the 'Wheel'togethen e l Having described the invention whatis claimed, is

y1. A-sectional steering Wheel comprising a hub,-a section rigidly secured thereto, a

section -pi'voted to said vhub and means for'eo i '3. A sectional steering ivheelcomprising 7n' a positively mounted section, a downwardly swinging section and means located IWithin the rim of tl'iewheel for locking said .sec tions together to form a complete Wheel.. 'y

4. A sectional steering wheel comprising a positively mounted section', a downwardly swinging section, a latchcarried by one of.l saidriiii sections, a keeper carried by the" other section for locking the said sections together to form a complete wheel and 'in- 80. terlocking housings for said flatch. and

keeper. y

5. A sectional steering wheel. comprising a positively mounted section, adownwardly swinging section and a plunger operated 85,

latch located Within the rim ofthe Wheel Jfor locking the said sections together to forni a complete wheel. y

In'testimony whereof I. afiix niv signature.

\ LEWIS C. PRITCHARD. 

